I was also diagnosed in 2012 and has surgery in 2013. I continue on meds and have many health issues still. I haven’t had a full recovery and dramatic weight loss or anything. I’m now starting to regret surgery as it has left me very limited in what I can do. I was far more mobile before. I miss my life. I’ve lost everything since having surgery!

I, too, was diagnosed with a pituitary tumor and subsequently had surgery to remove it. I still struggle day to day with many issues…word finding, comprehension, emotions. I also struggle with finding Cushings disease support groups in our area.

A simple test that measures free cortisol levels in saliva at midnight — called a midnight salivary cortisol test — showed good diagnostic performance for Cushing’s syndrome among a Chinese population, according to a recent study. The test was better than the standard urine free cortisol levels and may be an alternative for people with end-stage kidney disea […]

Your case is every similar to mine. I wasn’t a dancer but I did play multiple sports in high school and played college basketball. I saw doctor Yuen at Swedish as well and many more doctors as well. I have never got my case or my symptoms solved. Over 4 years of doctors and testing. They found I had a pituitary tumor and mildly high cortisol in my 24 hour Ur […]

Thanks for sharing your story. In February it will be 6 years since I’ve had my pituitary surgery. My health is constantly up and down as well. I was just wondering if you’re treated for depression or anxiety at all? Also, have you found any exercises or physical therapy to be helpful?

Jill wrote: 'In December 2004 my dad who had addison's for over 30 years had a triple bypass surgery 6 days before Christmas. The surgery was an amazine success and it was predicted he would be home before Christmas. Day 2 following surgery the hospital neglected to give him his steriods for his Addison's for 22 hours, which they were complete […]

A man with Cushing’s disease — caused by an adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH)-secreting pituitary adenoma — who later developed metastases in the central nervous system without Cushing’s recurrence, was successfully treated over eight years with radiation and chemotherapy, according to a case report.

Meta

Addison’s disease: Hyperpigmentation is a classic symptom of Addison’s disease, an endocrine disorder in which the adrenal glands fails to produce steroid hormone. The disease causes darkening of the skin in certain areas.

Cushing’s syndrome: The abnormal amount of cortisol in the human body causes a condition known as the Cushing’s syndrome. And one of the symptoms of the disorder is hyperpigmentation of the skin.

The death of a 12-year-old boy who was suffering from undiagnosed Addison’s disease was preventable, an inquest heard.

Ryan Lee Morse had been unwell from July 2012, with his parents noticing his skin darkening and him becoming lethargic and losing weight.

His condition worsened over the following months and he died during the early hours of December 8, 2012.

During the time he was unwell, Ryan’s mother, Carol Ann Morse, took him to Abernant Surgery in Abertillery several times.

She said: “Ryan was rarely ill as a child. In June 2012, which was towards the end of Ryan’s first comprehensive school year, I noticed his skin colour changing.

“His skin seemed to be getting darker.”

She said his joint areas, including elbows and knees, were getting darker. Under his eyes, it looked as if he had not slept for a month. I don’t suppose it worried me at the time because it was gradual.”

A post mortem was held on December 12 by Dr E. J. Lazda, a consultant pathologist at University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff who concluded that Ryan died as a result of Addison’s disease.

An inquest into Ryan’s death was held at Newport Coroner’s Court on Thursday.

Dr Yvette Cloette, a consultant paediatrician since 2004, was called during the early hours of December 8, 2012, by a registrar where she was told the details of Ryan’s death.

She said: “Ryan’s parents told me he had been unwell since July.

“It was thought Ryan had been particularly unwell since the Thursday before he passed away. He had to be collected from school that day. On (the) Friday morning, she said he hallucinated. His temperature did settle that afternoon but then he had diarrhoea.

“As his mum was cleaning him, she noticed his genitalia were black.

“I then examined Ryan. At this time I formed the opinion that Ryan may have had Addison’s disease. I didn’t share this with the family at the time because I didn’t have enough evidence.

“I believe that Ryan’s death was preventable. Addison’s is a disease which, once recognised, can be treated.”

She said it was easier to put things together retrospectively, as opposed to when treating an acute illness as a GP.

David Bowen, senior coroner for Gwent, paid tribute to Ryan’s family during the hearing.

“Before summing up, I think it’s right that I pay tribute to the dignity that has been shown by Mrs Morse and her family.

“It can’t have been easy for them to rehear events that took place over five years ago.

“Please accept my belated condolences.”

Mr Bowen told the inquest that Ryan had been fit and well up until July 2012.

“However at about that time, his parents began to notice a gradual change in his skin and a fluctuation in his general health.”

He had been diagnosed with a viral infection and prescribed Paracetamol, he said.

Over the next six to eight weeks, he did not improve.

Mr Bowen said: “Consequently, his mother took him back to the doctor. The GP was more concerned about the rash, it seems to me, than any of the other symptoms.

“He prescribed tablets and cream for that condition.”

Mr Bowen said that during October and November 2012, “Ryan’s health became much more of a concern for his parents.”

He suffered from headaches, pains in his legs, and occasional episodes of projectile vomiting.

On November 7, Mrs Morse took Ryan back to the GP surgery, where she described symptoms to Dr Rudling, who took samples of blood.

On November 21, they returned to receive the blood test results.

The results revealed a “slightly lower than normal” white blood cell count. The inquest heard Ryan was told he was still suffering from a viral infection that had been diagnosed some months earlier.

Mr Bowen said: “It appears that about this time, there was an outbreak of Norovirus or vomiting and sickness in the area that may have confused the diagnosis.”

Mrs Morse said: “I’d been told to bring Ryan back in January so I thought I would just get Christmas out of the way and take him back. I’d been a carer for 9-10 years but my job didn’t give me any insight into what Ryan had.”

On November 29, 2012, Ryan returned to school, but around a week later on December 6 he was so ill that his mum had to collect him early.

The following day, on December 7, Mrs Morse rang Abernant Surgery saying she needed to speak to a doctor.

Between 8.50am and 8.55am, she received a call from Dr Lyndsey Elizabeth Thomas.

Mrs Morse said: “She asked if he’d been given Paracetamol and I explained he wouldn’t take it. She asked what his temperature was like.

“I’d said Ryan was awake (that morning) and talking rubbish.”

The inquest heard Mrs Morse was asked to take Ryan to the surgery, but she said she was unable to.

“She then told me to give Ryan some dissolvable Paracetamol and see how it goes until dinner. She said fetch him up if you need to.”

Dr Lyndsey Elizabeth Thomas said her contact with Ryan was limited to a single telephone conversation with his mother on December 7.

She said: “I considered whether Ryan needed to be seen or admitted to hospital.

“I clearly recall explaining that if she had any concerns or if Ryan’s delirium or temperature didn’t improve in two hours, he would need to be seen, I would be able to go and visit him at the end of the morning surgery if necessary.”

Mrs Morse said she later noticed that her son’s genitals were black.

She rang the surgery and was put her through to Dr Rudling.

Mrs Morse said: “She said ‘it’s all to do with his hormones’. Phone Monday and we’ll fit him in. At this point I didn’t know what to think.

“I was thinking I’ll take him in on Monday and see what they say. There was no more temperature, no more sickness and no more diarrhoea.”

The inquest heard Dr Joanne Louise Rudling, who qualified in 1993, joined Abernant in August 2011.

She said her first contact with Ryan was in November 2012.

On December 7, Dr Rudling said the receptionist took a call from Ryan’s mother while she was in reception.

Dr Rudling said: “I decided to speak to Ryan’s mother in reception there and then.

“She also asked if this could be age related, I said it could be but I would have to examine him first.

“The impression I got was Ryan was improving. His mother was concerned about the darkening of his genitalia.”

Ryan’s father said goodnight around 10.15pm and went to bed. At around 11.10pm Mrs Morse could see Ryan had fallen asleep, and went to sleep herself at around 11.30pm.

She said: “I woke up and saw it was 4.10am and then I looked at Ryan and looking at his chest could see he wasn’t breathing.

“I started to do chest compressions, dialled 999, continued chest compressions until the paramedics arrived. They took over. They told me Ryan had died.”

Mr Bowen said: “This is a rare but natural disease, one which apparently GPs will not normally encounter.

“Unfortunately, neither doctor nor parents thought it necessary to refer Ryan to hospital, where the true nature of his illness may have been diagnosed.”

Recording a narrative conclusion, Mr Bowen said Ryan died of natural causes.

He said: “The opportunity to administer life-saving treatment was missed.”

Speaking after the inquest, Ryan’s sister Christina Morse said: “First of all I would like to thank everyone involved with Ryan and Ryan’s case.

“Today, after five long years, the coroner has come to the conclusion that Ryan’s death was due to natural causes and that Ryan’s death was preventable.”

Advice from a Volunteer Firefighter with Adrenal Insufficiency

My name is Jeannie, and I have been diagnosed with Secondary AI since March of 2015. To make a long story short, I was diagnosed with a pituitary adenoma in Feb of 2015. It was apron 8mm x 10mm at the time wit was found. On April 25th, 2015 I was getting ready for work in the early morning hours.. I passed out in my bathroom and was immediately rushed to the hospital by my husband. They did a secondary MRI and found that the tumor had tripled in size to 23mm x almost 41mm. My Cortisol was also so low it was undetectable by the lab. I was taken by ambulance to Emory University hospital in Atlanta where the Neurosurgeon I had been in consult with was. I arrived there on Sunday and was in Surgery Wednesday Morning. The surgery took 9 hours and recovery was close to 6.

Prior to this all taking place I was a volunteer firefighter, and had worked EMS for almost 16 years. I have been in nearly every situation possible. I see so many people that have our condition asking about Medic Alert bracelets, What kind they should have, what it should say on it, etc. So I have put together a short list to help out a little bit. This is coming from both someone who has this extremely rare disease, and also from the Emergency Medical Side of me. Knowing what We as medics look for in the field, How quickly things move, what we ask or need to know, etc.

Please know that this IS NOT Professional Medical advice, But this is advice coming from someone who can shed some light on how to potentially save your life if you should ever be alone, or without anyone who knows your condition and you fall unconscious or are unable to the the responders what your condition is.

First off if you are looking for a medic alert bracelet or wondering if you should get one.

**The answer is yes, If you have been diagnosed ANY TYPE of adrenal insufficient or are on replacement medication.. YES. you need one.**

Here are some of those reasons and some pointers on what they should look like / what they should say.

#1– If you are found unconscious, and there are not bystanders around to tell emergency crews what is wrong with you, You will go longer without your steroids. If we see on your bracelet that you are steroid dependent, it dissolves the ENTIRE guessing game of why you’re unconscious.

#2– It should have on there your emergency contact and a GOOD telephone number. That way if nothing else. We can call them. NOT EVERY EMS AGENCY HAS ACCESS TO THE “CLOUD” BASED SYSTEMS THAT STORE YOUR INFO. Please be sure that if your emergency contacts number changes.. You change it on your bracelet. There is nothing worse than wasted time calling a number that doesn’t belong to the person we NEED to talk to.

#3– DO NOT MAKE IT “PRETTY” OR “NOT SO OBVIOUS”. I can not stress this enough. Ladies I know that you want the cute ones that look like normal bracelets, and have pretty charms, etc on them… THE ENTIRE point of a medical alert bracelet is that someone needs to see it and know that they should look at it. If it looks like a regular bracelet or regular necklace and it isn’t obvious within the first 3 seconds once we get to you and look in the obvious places (neck/wrist). it will NOT get seen. I promise you, we are too busy trying to play the guessing game of why you are not responding, than to take a look at every single piece of regular jewelry and see if it might have a really small inscribing of what is wrong with you. Once again. Make it noticeable. We will see that we need to look at it. Once we do. The guessing game is more than likely OVER. and we can begin to treat you appropriately.

#4– Most EMT’s and Paramedics Don’t Understand or know about Addisons or the treatment involved. If nothing else, carry a letter from your doctor explaining what is wrong with you, etc. It is very rare, and NOT covered in most Paramedic courses. So please, for those of you that put “ADRENAL INSUFFICIENT” on your bracelet and NOT “STEROID DEPENDENT” please keep in mind that you may end up with the Paramedic that just graduated, is nervous, and will mistake adrenal insufficiency for Adrenaline insufficiency.. and try to give you epinephrine. Please understand that I have seen this almost happen. It is something that is easily misunderstood in the heat of the moment.

#5– If you have an emergency injection that you carry with you all the time, on your person, or somewhere close. PUT ON THERE THAT YOU HAVE IT! MOST ems agencies have standing protocol that they can assist with emergency medications (Don’t jump in here if you are one of those states that doesn’t allow it.. I said most) That way if we find you down, and look at your bracelet, AND see that you have emergency meds with you… guess what now, not only is the guessing game over, You’re ALSO getting the RIGHT EMERGENCY MEDS, instead of us having to either give you what we carry, or you having to wait until you get to the ER and the ER doc has to go through your file and figure out that you need the medication that’s been in your pocketbook the ENTIRE TIME.If you are unsure if your state allows this, or if you Local EMS agency can do this. Contact their local medical control and ask. If they do, Please offer to give a small talk on what the disease is and how to use the emergency kit. Most will know once they see the acto-vial, but if they do not, Please educate them. Explain to them that it can be the only thing that could save your life.

Please take the time and make sure that you have correct information on your bracelet. Secondary or Primary, the treatment in an Emergency situation is the same. So there is NO need for you to spell out if you are secondary or primary. Both get the emergency injection in case of a crisis. Both get fluid bolus, heart and blood pressure monitoring. Nothing is different when it comes to an emergency situation. If you have any questions on the wording or what to get on it. Be sure you at least have an emergency contact, That you are steroid dependent, and where your emergency injection is located.

IF you know that your local EMS agency uses the “cloud” for stored emergency info, you can spend the money to get it. But I worked for service that covered a county with over 100 sq miles, and we didn’t use it. It is unreliable and takes too much time to log in to the system, try to read the small number on your band, type it in, etc. When you can simply put the information on the band itself.

If you have any other further questions, You can refer to AIU’s emergency page.

Some diseases and conditions could be responsible for your abdominal fat.
Mita Majumdar | Updated: April 24, 2017 6:15 pm

Visceral fat or unhealthy belly fat that surrounds the liver and other organs in the abdomen puts you at risk for serious health problems, such as, metabolic syndrome, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. But, what causes your pot belly or beer fat in the first place? The most obvious answers you will get is – ‘You are not exercising enough’, or, ‘you are eating too much of fatty foods or sugary foods’, or ‘you are not eating the right foods’, or ultimately, ‘It’s genetics! You got it from your parents’. All of these reasons are true, of course. However, some diseases/ disorders and conditions, too, could be responsible for your abdominal fat and these have nothing to do with not exercising or not eating right. Following are some of these disorders.

Cushing’s Syndrome

Cushing’s syndrome, also called hypercortisolism, is an endocrine disorder that occurs when your body is exposed to high cortisol levels over a long period of time. It is a treatable disorder, however, if it is chronic, the symptoms can last lifelong.

Symptoms: Symptoms vary according to the severity of the disorder. The characteristic symptoms include –

Fatty tissue deposits in the midsection

Fatty deposits in the upper back, especially between the shoulders, so that it resembles a hump

Puffy face

Violaceous stretch marks (pink or purple) on the arms, breast, stomach, and thighs that are more than 1 cm wide. [1]

Addison’s disease, also called adrenal insufficiency, is a disorder where your adrenal glands produce insufficient hormones, especially, glucocorticoids including cortisol and aldosterone. It is a life-threatening disease that can affect anyone irrespective of their gender or age.

How do glucocorticoids influence abdominal fats? Glucocorticoids including cortisol convert the fats into energy in the liver. They also help your body respond to stress. When sufficient amount of glucocorticoids are not produced by the adrenal glands, the fats accumulate in the abdominal area, and you see it as flab around your middle.

Symptoms:

Hyperpigmentation

Extreme fatigue

Low blood sugar and low blood pressure

Salt craving as one of the functions of adrenal glands is to maintain the sodium-potassium balance in the body

Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain

Weight loss but gain in abdominal fat

Causes:

Insufficient production of adrenal cortex hormones

Stopping of prescribed corticosteroids

Tuberculosis and other infections of adrenal glands

Spread of cancer to the adrenal glands

Management:

Oral corticosteroids or corticosteroid injections

Intravenous injections of hydrocortisone, saline solution, and dextrose in case of Addisonian crisis

Stress

Chronic stress is a very big cause of belly fat. When you are exposed to stress, a chain reaction starts in the body because of the dysregulation of HPA axis of the neuroendocrine system. HPA axis is a complex interaction between the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal glands. The hypothalamus produces a corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) and vasopressin. These together stimulate the secretion of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). ACTH is transported by the blood to the adrenal glands, which then produces corticosteroids, mainly, cortisol from cholesterol. One of the functions of cortisol is to signal the body to store fat, and specifically, the fat storage occurs in the abdominal area, where the cortisol receptors are greater. Researchers have found that stress causes hyperactivation of HPA axis, leading to accumulation of fat tissue, especially in the abdomen region.

So, the more and longer you are stressed (or if you are chronically stressed), chances are that you will be carrying more belly fat!

Ascites

Ascites is the buildup of fluid in the abdominal space. Ascites usually occurs in people with cancer, and it is then called malignant ascites. Onset of ascites is generally the terminal phase in cancer. Ascites also occurs in patients with liver cirrhosis, kidney failure, or heart disease.

Symptoms:

The first sign of ascites is an increase in abdominal girth accompanied by weight gain. [4] Although it looks like it is belly fat, it is actually the fluid that causes the bulging.

Other symptoms include:

Shortness of breath

Nausea and vomiting

Swelling in the feet and ankle

Decreased appetite, sense of fullness, bloating

Fatigue

Haemorrhoids

Management:

If the ascites is not causing any discomfort, it may not require any treatment. Treatment of ascites can have many side effects. Talk to your doctor before you go in for management/ treatment.

Abdominal hernia

Abdominal hernia is a swelling or a bulge in the abdominal area where an organ or fatty tissue pushes through a weak spot in the abdominal wall. The abdominal wall is made up of tough connective tissue and tendons that stretch from the ribs to the groin. Depending on the position of the weakness in your abdominal wall, the hernia can be inguinal (groin), femoral (upper thigh), umbilical (belly button), hiatal (upper stomach), or even incisional. Incisional hernia can occur when the intestine pushes through a weak spot at the site of abdominal surgery.

Symptoms:

Visible bulge that may or may not cause discomfort

Feeling of heaviness in the abdomen

Sharp pain when you strain or lift objects

Causes:

Constipation and diarrhoea

Persistent coughing and sneezing

Straining or suddenly lifting a heavy object

Management:

Umbilical hernia, common in young children, mostly resolves by itself as the abdominal muscles get stronger.

Other abdominal hernia normally do not resolve by themselves. Doctors suggest waiting and watching.

If treatment is required, surgery is the only option. Surgery involves pushing the hernia back into the abdomen and repairing the abdominal wall.

Menopause

Menopause is certainly not a disease or a disorder. It is the time in a woman’s life when she stops menstruating and cannot become pregnant because her ovaries stop producing the required amounts of hormones oestrogen and progesterone. A woman reaches menopause when she has not had her periods for 12 months.

Symptoms:

Hot flashes and/ or night sweats

Vaginal dryness

Mood swings

Sleep disturbances

It is very common to gain belly fat during menopause. This is because of the low oestrogen levels. Oestrogen seems to influence the distribution of fat in the body, in a way that the fat is redistributed from the hips, buttocks, and thighs to the belly. However, a study published in the journal Metabolism reported that though women did significantly gain belly fat, especially deep inside the belly, relative fat distribution is not significantly different after menopause. [5] But the fact remains that women do gain flab in the abdomen after menopause.

Belly fat can be seriously harmful. If your belly fat is not because of the above-mentioned conditions, you can lose it by adopting a healthy lifestyle that includes sleeping enough, exercising regularly, eating right, and reducing stress.

Patients with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysregulations report health-related quality of life that is far lower than that of the general population, according to findings of a prospective study.

“In most centers, both patients with adrenal deficiency and patients with Cushing’s syndrome are managed by the same team,” Charlotte DeBucy, of the Center for Rare Adrenal Diseases at Cochin Hospital in Paris, and colleagues wrote. “Despite the usual perception that both types of diseases alter quality of life, few studies have similarly investigated the impact of cortisol dysregulations on [health-related quality of life]. Such studies are important, however, to identify meaningful differences that would be important to consider to improve management and outcome.”

De Bucy and colleagues analyzed data from 343 patients with Addison’s disease or Cushing’s syndrome followed in routine practice at a single center in France between September 2007 and April 2014 (78% women; mean age, 48 years; mean length of time since diagnosis, 7.8 years; 61% married). All participants completed the short-form health survey (SF-36), a survey of health-related quality-of-life measures and the 12-item general health questionnaire (GHQ-12), a measure of psychological well-being or distress. Questionnaires were completed at baseline and at 6, 12, 24 and 36 months. Patients with Cushing’s syndrome were also assessed for cortisol status at baseline and at follow-up evaluations.

Within the cohort, 206 had Cushing’s syndrome of pituitary origin, 91 had Cushing’s syndrome of adrenal origin and 46 patients had Addison’s disease; 16% were included in the study before any treatment was initiated.

Researchers found that mean standard deviation scores for psychological and physical dimensions of the SF-36 were “well below” those of the general population, but diagnosis, cortisol status and time since treatment initiation all influenced individual scores. Cushing’s syndrome of pituitary origin was associated with worse health-related quality of life, especially for physical functioning, social functioning and mental health. In Cushing’s syndrome, health-related quality of life was generally worse during periods of hypercortisolism, but scores for these patients were lower than those of patients with Addison’s disease even during periods of hypocortisolism or eucortisolism, according to the researchers.

“The differences were particularly large for physical functioning and role-physical subscales,” the researchers wrote.

They also found that mental health scores for patients with Cushing’s syndrome decreased during periods of hypocortisolism, whereas other adrenal conditions were associated with higher mental health scores.

More than half of patients, regardless of diagnosis and cortisol status, had psychological distress requiring attention, according to the GHQ-12 survey.

“Our findings are important for clinical practice,” the researchers wrote. “The consequences of cortisol dysregulation on [health-related quality of life] should be considered in the management of adrenal insufficiency and even more (in) Cushing’s syndrome patients, and these consequences can be long term, affecting apparently cured patients. Early information on these consequences might be helpful for patients who often perceive a poor quality of life as the result of inadequate disease control or treatment. Even if this possibility exists, knowing that adrenal diseases have long-lasting effects on [health-related quality of life] may be helpful for patients to cope with them.” – by Regina Schaffer